You might not think it matters much whether Jesus rose from the dead or not, but I hope this little article will change your mind. Here are four things that follow from the resurrection.
He is the Lord above us
Jesus was condemned by the Jewish authorities for claiming equality with God. If those claims were false then He was a blasphemer, and so God would not have raised Him from the dead and He couldn’t have raised Himself from the dead. His resurrection is the proof these claims are true. He was “declared to be the Son of God with power…by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4).
That means then that all of His teaching comes with divine authority. So whatever anyone says about the nature of reality, about morality, about life after death, about the way to heaven, if they disagree with Jesus then they are wrong.
The resurrection shows that Jesus Christ is Lord. Therefore, we need to bow to His authority.
He is the Judge before us
The Old Testament promised that there would be a king who would reign in righteousness forever. The question is how could a king avoid the inevitable end of his reign by death? Jesus Christ claimed to be the promised King, and He has been identified as such by the resurrection. He has conquered death and lives forever. Paul said God “has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
The resurrection marks Christ out as the eternal ruler who will judge the world.
He is the Saviour for us
Jesus told His disciples He was going to be crucified, but He made it clear He wasn’t going to die as a helpless victim, a political revolutionary, a noble martyr or a perfect example, but rather as a substitutionary sacrifice: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). We have broken God’s law, and God, in His righteousness, cannot overlook our sin. God must ensure that the penalty is paid. The Lord Jesus was going to give His life to pay the penalty for sin. His resurrection is the proof that the penalty was paid in full. That means then that we can go free, and will go free if we acknowledge our guilt and claim Christ as our substitute and Saviour.
No matter how long your record of sin and how heavy your burden of guilt might be, it can all be taken away if you turn to Christ – there is a Saviour for you.
He is the Friend for us
Jesus is not merely a figure of history or a subject of theology. He is alive – He is our contemporary. That means then that He can be with us. And this is something that Christians experience. Christ does give comfort in sorrow, strength in difficulties, guidance in decisions and so much more. He can be known personally.
“…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:9
